Motivating Activity Through Text Communications - Helping Adults Increase Movement
MATCH AIM
2 other identifiers
interventional
150
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effect of different types of text messages on physical activity levels of middle-aged and older adults and to determine whether these messages are effective in adults age 40 and older who are engaging in less than 90 minutes per week of moderate or higher intensity physical activity. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Which types of motivational messages show the greatest effects on changes in daily step counts in a 3-month precision text messaging intervention?
- What are the effects of personalized text messages on automatic affective evaluations, habit strength (experienced automaticity), exercise identity, working memory capacity, and processing speed? Participants will:
- Wear a Fitbit activity tracker continuously for 3 months and are encouraged to continue wearing it through 6 months.
- Wear an activPAL activity monitor on their thigh for 7-day assessment periods at the beginning of the study, at 3 months, and at 6 months.
- Complete 3 cognitive assessments ("brain games") per day on their smartphone during the 7-day assessment periods at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.
- Be asked to set goals to increase their daily steps over the first 3 months of the study.
- Receive up to 4 motivational text messages per day for 3 months to encourage physical activity.
- Keep study-related apps (Fitbit app, AIM app, MetricWire app) open in the background on their smartphone.
- Complete questionnaires at the beginning of the study, at 3 months, and at 6 months
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Jun 2026
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
May 4, 2026
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
May 18, 2026
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
June 1, 2026
ExpectedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
May 3, 2027
Study Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
August 2, 2027
May 22, 2026
May 1, 2026
11 months
May 4, 2026
May 21, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Daily Step Count
The primary outcome measure is the average daily step count, which is assessed using a blinded, research-grade activPAL activity monitor, worn on the thigh for a 7-day assessment period.
The activPAL is worn on the thigh for a 7-day assessment period before the intervention begins (baseline), after 3 months of intervention, and then again 3 months after the intervention is complete. The total time frame is 6 months.
Secondary Outcomes (5)
Mechanisms of Behavior Change for Adherence: Habit Strength
These secondary outcomes are collected at the same major time points as the primary outcome: baseline (month 0), post-intervention (month 3), and follow-up (month 6).
Mechanisms of Behavior Change for Adherence: Exercise Identity (Reflective)
These secondary outcomes are collected at the same major time points as the primary outcome: baseline (month 0), post-intervention (month 3), and follow-up (month 6).
Mechanisms of Behavior Change for Adherence: Automatic Affective Evaluations
These secondary outcomes are collected at the same major time points as the primary outcome: baseline (month 0), post-intervention (month 3), and follow-up (month 6).
Ambulatory Cognitive Function: Processing Speed
These secondary outcomes are collected at the same major time points as the primary outcome: Baseline (month 0), post-intervention (month 3), and follow-up (6 month).
Ambulatory Cognitive Function: Working Memory Capacity
These secondary outcomes are collected at the same major time points as the primary outcome: Baseline (month 0), post-intervention (month 3), and follow-up (6 month).
Study Arms (2)
Validated library of text messages
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants in this arm will receive motivational text messages that have been written and used in previous studies.
Newly created text messages
EXPERIMENTALParticipants in this arm will receive motivational text messages that have not been used in previous studies.
Interventions
Participants will receive up to 4 motivational text messages per day during a self-selected 12-hour window. These messages focus on two content areas: 1) Move more, and 2) sit less. Delivery of these messages occurs in two phases: 1. Random AIM (month 1): Messages are sent at random times within the participant's window to collect baseline data on their behavioral responses. 2. Precision AIM (months 2 and 3): Messages are sent at optimized times based on person-specific models that are created from the individual's previous responses to text messages from month 1.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Be 40 years of age or older
- Own a smartphone running an Android or iOS operating system
- Have proficiency with the English language
- Be capable of providing informed consent
- Be able to perform moderate physical activity without restrictions
- Be willing to complete the entire 6-month protocol
- Be willing to establish a 12-hour window - beginning no later than 9:45 am and ending no later than 9:45 pm - for receiving text messages.
You may not qualify if:
- Residing outside of the continental United States
- Self-reporting 90 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity per week
- contraindications to normal physical activity as identified on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
- Mobility restrictions that interfere with unassisted physical activity
- Being pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the study
- Planning to undergo surgery during the course of the study protocol
- Having a prior diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia
- Evidence of mild cognitive impairment as indicated by a mini-Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test score of 12 or higher
- Concurrent participation in another study involving weight loss or physical activity
- Failure to respond to at least 85% of Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) prompts during the 7-day qualification phase.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- University of Michiganlead
- National Institute on Aging (NIA)collaborator
Study Sites (1)
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
David E Conroy, PhD
University of Michigan
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- QUADRUPLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- OTHER
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Bickner Chair of Kinesiology and Professor of Kinesiology, School of Kinesiology
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
May 4, 2026
First Posted
May 18, 2026
Study Start (Estimated)
June 1, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
May 3, 2027
Study Completion (Estimated)
August 2, 2027
Last Updated
May 22, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-05
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
- Time Frame
- Data and supporting documentation will be made available concurrently with the primary peer-reviewed publication of the trial results and will remain accessible for 5 years post-publication. This immediate availability complies with the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy.
- Access Criteria
- Access is restricted to qualified external researchers affiliated with an accredited academic or non-profit research institution. Applicants must submit a formal, written research proposal detailing a sound scientific hypothesis and an analytical plan, alongside documentation of local IRB approval/waiver. Approved requestors and their sponsoring institutions must sign a legally binding Data Use Agreement (DUA) that strictly prohibits any re-identification or external data-linking attempts.
De-identified individual participant data (IPD) underlying the results reported in primary and secondary publications will be shared. This includes baseline behavioral metrics, coarsened demographics, post-intervention outcomes, and follow-up data. To protect participant privacy, all data will be stripped of direct identifiers, ages will be binned into 5-to-10-year bands, geographic markers restricted to broad regions, and timeline dates converted to "days since randomization." Raw, free-text qualitative journal entries will be suppressed entirely due to re-identification risks.